Original run: 1965-1986; Syndicated: until 1999
Chances are you might not be familiar with this theme song, but once your hear it, it’ll feel like you’ve known it for a while. The song is very wacky/comedic/fun. Wikipedia elusively lists Steve Kaplan as the original composer—”Later versions … of the original theme by Steve Kaplan.”
But for sure, versions were done by Chet Baker, The Mariachi Brass, David Mook, and Milton DeLugg.
So anyway, yes, The Dating Game is a dating game. It ran in the 1960s through the 1980s on ABC. It was also syndicated/resurrected as The New Dating Game sometime in the 1990s.
Below is the original theme.
By the way, a lot of songs are used as musical cues, and you might mistake some of it as the theme song. Below is a list of songs used throughout the show.
- “Spanish Flea” for the bachelor intro
- “Whipped Cream” for the bachelorette intro)
- “Lollipops and Roses” for the meet-your-date cue
- “Ladyfingers” and “Lemon Tree” for the thinking cues